How Nazgul the wolfdog made his run for Winter Olympic glory in Italy

LAGO DI TESERO, ITALY — Before he became the most famous dog at the Olympics, Nazgul was not known as an escape artist.

Still, his owners, Enrico and Alice Varesco, were not taking chances when they left him alone at their apartment alongside the Olympic cross-country ski trails this week.

The Varescos were headed out to watch an Olympic biathlon race at another competition venue, a couple hours away over the mountains. Nazgul, a two-year-old, 65-pound Czechoslovakian Wolfdog, was secured inside his spacious kennel, inside the house — with an eight-foot-tall fence separating the Varescos’ backyard from the trails where dozens of skiers would hurtle past later that day.

Then, the photos of a dog running amongst ski racers on the homestretch started landing on Alice’s phone.

“We thought it was impossible,” she said. “There are other wolfdogs in the valley.”

But then, a friend working at the competition office sent Alice what has now become an iconic image: the high-definition shot of a dog from the camera used to capture photo finishes. A family member dispatched to the Varescos’ apartment reported back, said Alice: “Everything open — and the dog is not there.”

Behold the saga of Nazgul, named for the villainous characters from the Lord of the Rings trilogy — whose Olympic cameo began by alarming athletes and organizers but ended with social media and TV stardom.

Since ambling out on course amid the women’s team sprint qualification round Wednesday, Nazgul has landed on the pages of newspapers around the world, on fan forums for Lord of the Rings and on a post by the 5-million-followers-strong “WeRateDogs” Instagram account. (The verdict: “14/10 someone get him a medal.”)

The Varescos spend a lot of time in the mountains of Northern Italy, and they said they originally thought the wildness of a wolfdog would be a good match for their lifestyle.

They were warned that the breed could be difficult, but they found the right kennel, with dogs that are good “from a character point of view,” Alice said — and the couple thought they could manage the challenge.

The name was Enrico’s idea; he wanted something “powerful and scary,” according to Alice.

Nazgul is “not dangerous,” she added. But he’s “still a wolfdog,” she said.

“Sometimes, he is quite stubborn, and he wants to win — but that’s our goal, not to let him win,” she said.

She added: “This time, he won.”

‘Running like a fool’

How did Nazgul do it?

In retrospect, the lever holding his kennel shut may not have been completely latched, Alice, 34, said in an interview in her backyard Saturday, as Nazgul and Enrico — neither of whom are confident in English — played in the sun nearby.

Then, presumably, the dog was able to open the front door by pushing the handle with a paw. As for the fence around the ski trails: Nazgul went “running like a fool” through the open priority line of the spectators’ entrance, too fast for volunteers to stop him, Alice said.

The presence of the wolf-like dog on the race course initially alarmed some racers — one of whom said she thought she was hallucinating, and that her initial reaction cost her a few seconds.

But Nazgul did not appear to affect the final outcome of the race, as he showed up after the top-ranked athletes had finished their preliminary round. The TV feed also showed him behaving indifferently, not aggressively, toward the athletes — though the race official who apprehended Nazgul, Michel Rainer, later described a “little bite” from the “nervous” dog that left him with a small bandage.

A number of Olympic athletes said afterward that while a dog loose on the middle of a race course could have ended badly, with a crash or a more aggressive bite, in thise case, the ending was happy.

‘he was doing well’

“We thought it was funny,” said Canadian Tony Cyr, 27, after finishing an event Saturday. “I think it put a smile on a lot of people’s faces, and I don’t think it impeded anyone’s race.”

Alice stressed that she and Enrico were grateful to all the race officials who helped with Nazgul’s capture. As former ski racers themselves, the couple was aware that “many, many things could have gone wrong,” Alice said.

“We are sorry for the athletes, if he, somehow, ruined their moment,” she added. “We are not proud of him for escaping, but somehow we are proud of how he behaved. Because he was doing well.”

After their initial panic, the Varescos have been able to find some humor in the situation. One vignette involved an Italian Eurosport commentator, Silvano Gadin, that the couple knows from his work with them at a local mountain running race they organize. On the broadcast of the cross-country ski race, the commentators were jokingly referring to the dog as “Olympo” and “Lampo,” Alice said, so she sentsend Gadin a message.

“If they need to talk about him, at least (do it) with the right name,” she said.

Enrico’s father ultimately retrieved Nazgul and returned him to his enclosed outdoor doghouse — where he erected a handmade sign: “Nazgul world champion wolfdog.”

The sign stayed for a couple of days. But the Varescos eventually took it down because they were worried about drawing too many onlookers. Even during the interview Saturday, a race official spotted Nazgul from the trail adjoining the Varescos’ yard, shouted his name and stopped for a photo.

The Varescos have been taking Nazgul on surreptitious walks, to avoid the attention. But they know the Olympics will be over soon.”In a couple of days,” Alice said, “everything will be finished, and this place will be quiet again.”